Rise in European students at UK universities

Students from mainland Europe are claiming a record number of places at UK
universities, figures show.

Almost 118,000 students were admitted last year as numbers increased by almost five per cent, it was revealed.

Students from European Union states count towards the strict cap on university places imposed by the Government – putting them in direct competition with applicants from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The disclosure – in figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency – comes amid unprecedented pressure on university admissions during the economic downturn.

In 2009, 588,689 people applied for undergraduate courses – a rise of almost nine per cent – but more than 100,000 failed to get in.

According to figures, the number of EU students increased by 4.9 per cent to 117,660 in 2008/9.

Ireland, Germany, France, Greece, Cyprus and Poland sent the most students to UK universities, it was disclosed.

Students' places are subsidised by the taxpayer and they are eligible for the same low-interest Government loans as those taken out by British students.

Competition is expected to be even more fierce this year following an unprecedented 23 per cent surge in the overall number of applications.

Demand from EU students is up 33 per cent - fuelled by new member states. Applicants from Lithuania and Latvia have more than doubled, while those from Romania are up by more than 70 per cent.

The latest figures come just days after it emerged that many eastern European students were taking advantage of cheap tickets on no-frills airlines to access courses in the UK.

Figures earlier this week also showed that more than 5,000 places at Russell Group universities were taken up by EU students last year – an increase of a third in just three years.

Steve Patriacha, former head of William Hulme's Grammar School, in Manchester, and a consultant working with the Danube International School, in Vienna, said: “Applying to the UK is a growing trend, particularly among schools in central Europe. These students are aiming for Russell Group universities and they are getting in.

“I'm really amazed at how many offers they are getting. They are not being favoured but admission tutors want the best candidates.”

Figures from HESA also show that admissions from outside Europe increased by 9.4 per cent in 2008/9 to 251,310.

These students do not count towards the cap on places and can be charged higher tuition fees.

It has prompted claims that they are being used as “cash cows” to boost university finances during the economic downturn.

Some 47,035 students are from China, up by 3.7 per cent, while then number of Indian students soared by 31.5 per cent to 34,065.

Speaking at an education conference in London on Friday, Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council, was due to warn universities against embarking on “crude” international recruitment drives to raise money.

“It would be seriously counter-productive and, in the long run, potentially self-defeating, for universities to focus on intensifying student recruitment drives as a knee-jerk reaction to any financial shortfalls they may face now or in the future or as a short term means of boosting their income,” he will say.

“International students have more study options today than ever before, and in an internet-connected world word quickly spreads when it appears a university regards them as little more than ‘cash cows’. In today’s rapidly evolving marketplace, overseas governments will react against foreign universities that are clearly only interested in recruiting students from their country and giving nothing in return.”